Welcome To Solomon Islands In Focus

As a long­time friend of the Solomon Islands, let me say the aim of this website is to bring you news about the Solomon Islands, promote tourism to the "Happy Isles” and generate donations for causes in the Solomons that will provide income for charitable institutions dependent on aid and help to give much needed money for local craftsmen and women.

I would encourage you to see for yourself a most unique and different part of the world and meet friendly, hospitable people while enjoying the sheer delights and beauty of a easy accessible Pacific paradise.

AXIOM is set to make its first shipment of nickel ore from Isabel Province next month.

Quoting the Solomon Star newspaper – 13 February 2019

“This has been long time in the making as the nickel deposits were discovered way back in the 1950s and 60s.

“Axiom was granted the first ever mining lease for nickel in Solomon Islands in October 2018 – it took nearly a decade for the landowners and Axiom to get to this point.

“The road was long and at times stormy with court cases against those now abiding by our laws and at times political interference in preventing this development.

“But since they were granted the Mining Lease they have worked quickly to establish some initial mining operations to honour their promise of delivering Solomon Islands’ first ever shipment of nickel in the first half of 2019.

Solomon Islands: Making each dollar go further is fundamental to the National Health Strategic Plan 2016-2020

At the launch of the National Health Strategic Plan in 2016, there was much emphasis in the plan on working in close collaboration with partners and making each dollar go further in the pursuit of health care.

While the Solomon Islands Government has put more money into the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) and its commitment to financing the health sector has been steadily growing aid flows remain fluctuating and hard to predict.

Aid in the form of equipment and medical supplies support from the New Zealand based charity trust, ‘Take My Hands’ has proved to be a reliable partnership to the MHMS and a source of aid which has indeed been ‘dollar saving’ with over NZ$351,000 worth of supplies having been sent for an expenditure of just NZ$25,000 being the first payment of an agreed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the MHMS, TMH, the National Referral Hospital (NRH) and with myself, as the Coordinator of the supplies.

The second payment phase of the MOU (due more than a year ago) has not been made by the MOHMS/NRH for NZ$25,000 and consequently the guaranteed shipment of between 8 to 10 containers per year of requested equipment and medical supplies has ceased.

To overcome the shortages of hospital beds, wheel chairs and clothing for the Hearts of Hope Charity, a very generous donation of funds from the Solomon Islands Forest Association (SFA) was provided to ensure two containers with 100 hospital beds and some 30 wheel chairs are being shipped to Honiara, with the first container due to arrive on 19 November this year. That container has 50 beds and some wheel chairs.

The second container with the remaining 50 hospital beds and the balance of wheel chairs will leave Auckland soon depending on shipping schedules.

The Hearts of Hope Charity received a truck load of clothing and footwear some months ago from TMH, along with mobility aids for the Association of Disabled Persons and items of office furniture for the Solomon Islands Development Trust (SIDT).

The MOHMS challenge is to use its allocated finances effectively and efficiently in providing health services and health care.

There was much emphasis at the onset of the National Health Strategic Plan 2016-20 on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) covering the social determinants and so to achieve them working in partnership would be essential.

One aspect of the plan talked of meeting the strategic challenges and the fact that the MHMS needed to re-organise itself to become more streamlined, more effective and to make each dollar go further.

I fully acknowledge the good work of the MOHM/NRH but cannot help feeling the MOU, I have highlighted, should be re-engaged with the outstanding payment to ensure a continuation of medical equipment and medical supplies at considerable cost saving and to ensure each dollar does indeed go to furthering improvements in medical services and covering the shortages of such essentials as hospital beds and basic medical supplies used on a daily basis.

Community Health Action Grants in Vanuatu aiding communities to improve their well-being.

I have read that the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Vanuatu has been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as demonstrating ‘Best Practice’ in the Pacific for its efforts to improve community attitudes and action for better health.

The award was received by the Minister of Health, Jack Norris Kalmet and the Director General (DG) of Health, George Taleo, at the Pacific Health Ministers Meeting in French Polynesia.

The Vanuatu Daily Post had this to say about the award and the Community Health Action Grants:

Quote.

This is the third time that Vanuatu has received this award, recognizing the commitment of the MOH to the Pacific’s Healthy Islands Vision

This year’s award recognizes the work of the ministry to support communities in Vanuatu to take positive action to improve well-being, through the Village Health Workers Programme (VHW) supported by the Australian Government.

In 2017, the programme introduced Community Health Action Grants for communities to work with their village health workers and aid post committees to conduct projects which address their priority health needs.

The MALAMPA Provincial Health Team used the grants to support two communities on Malekula.

“Communities near Hatbol Aid Post worked together to construct household ventilated improved pit (VIP) toilets while the Valeta Aid Post community installed a safe, reliable water supply system.

“These toilets and water systems help to create healthy physical environments, said the Health Promotion Unit Manager, Jean-Jacques Rory.

“It demonstrates the real strength of the Community Health Action Grants.

“It creates real and measurable health improvement knowledge.

“The grants encouraged village health workers and aid post committees to work with their communities to improve attitudes and behaviors which keep people healthy for life.

“We (MOH) have used innovative data collection to measure and show that the Community Health Action Grants have: encouraged VHW-led health awareness activities; improved knowledge of health promotion and disease prevention; and improved access to water and sanitation.

“Director of the Public Health Department, Len Tarivonda, dedicated the achievement to the National VHW Programme Team, especially the Malampa Health Team whose successful implementation of the grants was recognized by the WHO for furthering the Healthy Islands Vision.

“Dr Wendy Snowdon from WHO based in Suva, Fiji, said that the Community Health Action Grants have demonstrated all the aspects of a ‘Healthy Islands’ initiative ensuring that children are nurtured in body and mind, environments.”

Source: The Vanuatu Daily Post.

I am not aware any Community Health Action Grants being given to help communities in the Solomon Islands to undertake similar activities leading to local health promotion and disease prevention, improved access to water and better sanitation.

Perhaps, in the light of the successful programme in Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands Ministry of Health and Medical Services might wish to see what needs to be done to qualify for Community Health Action Grants being made available locally.

The Outgoing Chair of the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF), Prime Minister Hon Frank Bainimarama of Fiji said the PIDF’s fourth Leaders’ Summit will build on the commitment in the Suva Declaration to push for the limitation of global temperature rise to 1.5 Degrees Centigrade.

Hon Bainimarama made the remarks in his speech at the opening of the summit at the Lawson Tama Stadium in Honiara yesterday.